CONTACT
Manny Montelibano
단선 국가 A Dashed State | 2015 | 20’44”
Courtesy the Artist
Courtesy the Artist
Synopsis
A Dashed State is a three channel video installation with 5.1 surround sound that reflects on the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea, the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. Filmed from the southernmost point of Palawan in Bataraza, the work follows Filipino journeys toward the disputed territories of the Kalayaan Island Group and Sabah. Through layered image and sound, the work examines how seas become sites of geopolitical tension while also carrying longer histories of cosmology, empire and world making. The sonic structure forms the spine of the work. It combines live field recordings, AM radio frequencies captured at the edge of the West Philippine Sea, and fragments of Kudaman, an epic of the Palawan people recounting the multiple worlds of the universe. Through a technique resembling micropolyphony, overlapping chants and transmissions create a shifting acoustic field. The result is a restless soundscape that hovers between interference and resonance, echoing the entanglement of territorial claims, cultural memory and maritime life.
About the artist
Manny Montelibano investigates the psychological dimensions of contemporary socio political, economic and religious structures through video and inter-media installation. Working from the cultural textures of the Philippines, he transforms local practices into reflections on broader global conditions. Rather than adhering to strict social realism, Montelibano constructs layered visual and sonic environments that reveal how power, belief and identity circulate within contemporary society. For the Philippine Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale, he presented the multi-channel installation A Dashed State, addressing maritime borders and contested territories.